Cats vs. Robots, Volume 1

July 1, 2018

Gr 3-6-The Robot Federation of Planet Binar and the Great Feline Empire of Planet Felinus have been longtime enemies. Both are ruled by somewhat preoccupied leaders, with more competent second-in-command counterparts handling business. The discovery of something called a "singularity chip" on a primitive, unimportant planet called Earth, however, grabs the attention of the cats and robots alike. The singularity chip is said to be capable of either extending a cat's life indefinitely, or serving as an infinite power supply to a robot. The respective leaders both need the chip, so the race to acquire it begins. On Earth, the chip is the work of two married scientists, parents to two polar-opposite children. Max loves designing video games, struggles in school, and has great affection for cats; high-achieving Min's passion is robotics and she dislikes cats. Chaos ensues! This story fits squarely in the subgenre of goofy, outer space-based comedy. The characters are a bit two-dimensional and the singularity chip's highly specific uses are a little implausible, but fans of the genre won't mind. Text messages from the children's parents (absent for most of the story) make the parents sound like highly excitable teenagers and adds to the silliness. Promotion of STEM skills, the drama of a robotics competition, and a gender-nonbinary role model also enhance the text. VERDICT Recommend for cat lovers and "Captain Underpants" fans. Purchase for medium-size collections.-Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL'

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
The Great Feline Empire has been at war with the Robot Empire for centuries; now a technological breakthrough in the Wengrod family lab puts Earth at the center of the conflict.Pounce de Leon has learned from Earth cat operative OB_1_Catno_B (nicknamed "Obi") that a computer chip has been developed on Earth that could extend cat lives beyond nine. Sir Beeps-a-Lot has heard reports of something similar from a mole in Earth company GloboTech; it can also offer infinite power to robots. Both empires want that chip. Meanwhile, fraternal twins Min Wengrod and her cat-loving brother, Max, are preparing for a robot battle and a video game-design contest, respectively. While their scientist parents are in China, their GloboTech-created household AI attempts to use the family's helper robots to steal the chip while Obi enlists Stu and Scout, Max's rescue kittens, to do the same. It's a creative premise for a series opener, but it comes to naught thanks to multiple plot holes and flat, stock characters. (One exception to the latter is Latinx cousin and babysitter Javi, whose nonbinary gender identification is used as a message-y plot device. The Wengrods are otherwise ethnically undefined.) The alternation of perspective between robots and cats results in a great deal of repetition, and the nonsensical central conflict (cats like naps and don't follow rules; robots love rules) is a flimsy nail on which to hang a too-lengthy novel, let alone a series.Skip. (Science fiction. 8-11)

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November 5, 2018
This madcap caper featuring an amusing crew of human, feline, and robotic characters launches the Cats vs. Robots series by the craftily matched Stohl (Beautiful Creatures) and Peterson (a game developer and robot builder). The premise is grounded in the feud between two intergalactic rivals: the disorganized Great Feline Empire, where naps are frequent and rules are followed “only if you felt like it,” and the goal-oriented Robot Federation, whose residents are “constantly trying (and failing) to invade and bring order to feline society.” When a microchip is created on Earth that can extend the lives of cats beyond nine and keep robots perpetually charged, the race is on to procure the device. Wryly named enemies Pounce de Leon and Sir Beeps-a-Lot are sent on missions to Earth, where allies of both empires are at work, including an elderly cat, Obi (“OB_1_Cat_noB” in robot-speak), and a bumbling assemblage of outdated computer prototypes residing in the home of the microchip’s inventors and their precocious kids. The authors sustain sharp comedic irony throughout, interjecting unanticipated plot twists and doses of emotion likely to engage readers. Ages 8–12.

June 1, 2018
Grades 4-6 An ages-old conflict heats up when Chairman Miaow of the Great Feline Empire sends special agent Pounce de Leon to wrest an immortality-conferring computer chip from its earthly two-legged makers before it can fall into the pincers of the digital Binars of the Robotic Federation. No sooner are the chip's inventors, parents of unsuspecting human twins Max and Min, called away than a surreptitious struggle commences between their house's Binars-hacked AI and a pair of easily distracted, wildly destructive stray kittens recruited by Pounce's resourceful feline ally Obi_1_Cat_NoB. The twins' nonbinary older cousin (nonbinary is defined in an inserted Q&A) and a household drone further enrich the motley supporting cast. While comically contrasting the vast gulf between the mentalities of machines and cats, and (plainly) having great fun with names, the authors also work in significant gulf-bridging elements and developments. By the end, the war remains far from over, as readers who see it enacted daily between their own cats and Roombas will be pleased but unsurprised to learn. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Stohl topped best-seller lists as a coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures series for YA; now she and her game-developer husband tackle MG with a STEM-friendly, high-interest adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)